EPL: QPR is back to Premier League
the Premier League in the most dramatic style
as they beat Derby County 1-0 in the
Championship play-off final thanks to Bobby
Zamora's 90th-minute winner, despite being
reduced to 10 men after an hour.
On a tense afternoon at Wembley, QPR had to
withstand a Derby onslaught in the second
half after Gary O'Neil's straight red card for a
foul on Johnny Russell.
But Zamora, who hit a play-off winner for
West Ham in 2005, pounced in the final minute
to dash Derby's dreams and secure a return to
the top flight for QPR just a year after being
relegated.
It meant a sad return to Wembley for Rams
boss Steve McClaren, back at the scene of his
lowest moment in football when he sheltered
under an umbrella as his England side
crumbled against Croatia in 2007 to miss out
on qualification for the following year's
European Championship.
McClaren, who began the season on Rangers'
coaching staff, must have had a wry smile on
his face when, 10 minutes before kick-off, the
heavens opened.
All the pressure was on Rangers, £177million
in debt and with a wage bill bigger than
Atletico Madrid's, and it showed.
Derby bossed the first half and Craig Forsyth
headed a deep cross from Jamie Ward
narrowly wide, while Will Hughes blazed over
from the edge of the area.
Rangers' hearts were in their mouths in the
27th minute when Hughes turned inside
Richard Dunne in the area and promptly fell to
the ground, but referee Lee Mason waved
away the appeals for a penalty.
Niko Kranjcar suffered a hamstring injury and
the man who helped hasten McClaren's
England exit with his goal for Croatia that
infamous night seven years ago limped off to
be replaced by Armond Traore.
Rangers keeper Rob Green dealt with Russell's
deflected effort and also got down well to tip
Ward's inswinging free-kick, which evaded
everyone in the six-yard box, past the post.
Rangers boss Harry Redknapp was pinning his
side's promotion hopes on their top scorer
Charlie Austin, and the chance the former
Burnley striker had been looking for arrived
shortly before the hour mark.
Kevin Doyle sent Traore down the left flank
and his cut back found Austin where he has
been lurking most of the season, in front of
goal 10 yards out.
But this time the 20-goal frontman's finish let
him down as he side-footed the ball wide of
Lee Grant's goal and held his head in his
hands with disbelief.
It looked like being a defining moment for
Rangers, and worse was to follow three
minutes later when Russell's attempt to burst
through on goal was curtailed by a cynical
and deliberate foul from O'Neil.
O'Neil argued that there were other defenders
in the vicinity but referee Mason, probably
wisely, decided veterans Dunne and Clint Hill
were not going to catch Russell and produced
a straight red card.
Derby sensed their chance and poured
forward, forcing Green into point-blank saves
from Craig Bryson, Chris Martin and Simon
Dawkins in a frantic 10-minute spell.
But as the clock ticked down Derby skipper
Richard Keogh mis-controlled in the area and
Zamora, for the second time in his career,
blasted in the most valuable goal in football.
Culled from Sky Sports
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